Despite a fourth place in Montreal, Charles Leclerc came out of the Canadian Grand Prix completely crushed after a weekend he himself describes as a nightmare.
Read more Max Verstappen calls for a «purer» F1 as a major reform falters
While Lewis Hamilton secured his second podium with Ferrari in Canada, Charles Leclerc went through one of the most challenging weekends of his Formula 1 career.
The Monegasque finished fifth in the sprint before saving a fourth place in the Grand Prix, benefiting notably from the retirement of George Russell and strategic errors by McLaren. But behind this decent result on paper, the Ferrari driver claims to have experienced a real hell behind the wheel of the SF-26.
“I don’t consider this a reward. I mainly think this fourth place is more due to luck than the result of my work” said Leclerc.
The Scuderia driver never really seemed comfortable on the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit, unlike his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who was much more competitive throughout the weekend.
“I had absolutely no feeling”
Leclerc notably explained that he lost all confidence in his car from the first laps of Friday’s free practice.
According to him, several factors completely destroyed his feelings, especially the brakes and Pirelli tires.
“It was a nightmare from start to finish, probably the most difficult weekend of my entire F1 career, he confided. I had absolutely no feeling with the tires from my first lap in FP1 to the last lap of the race.”
The Ferrari driver even admitted to deliberately slowing down at the end of the race to avoid an accident.
“In the last fifteen laps, I was driving one and a half seconds slower just to avoid taking risks. Even like that, I had several very close moments.”
Read more Too laid back in his Aston Martin? Alonso pushes the team to rethink their approach
Hamilton impresses at Ferrari
While Leclerc was suffering greatly, Lewis Hamilton seemed on the contrary perfectly connected to his Ferrari throughout the Canadian weekend.
The seven-time world champion took second place behind Kimi Antonelli and served as a particularly painful point of comparison for his teammate.
“The good thing is that I had an excellent reference this weekend with Lewis” acknowledged Leclerc.
He was absolutely incredible and had a fantastic feeling with the car. This will allow me to analyze what created such a difference between us.”
A circuit that doesn’t suit his style
Charles Leclerc also admitted that Montreal is one of the circuits that particularly challenges his driving style.
The Ferrari driver believes that certain characteristics of the Canadian track do not naturally match his way of attacking corners.
“Historically, Montreal has never been a circuit where I have been particularly strong, a bit like Melbourne, he explained. The rhythm of the corners doesn’t really match my driving style.”
Leclerc nevertheless believed at one point that he could aim for the podium during his first stint, before everything fell apart with the switch to medium tires.
“After the tire change, getting on the podium would have been a miracle” concluded the Monegasque.
Read more McLaren reveals the real reason for Lando Norris’s retirement in Canada